Restless Summer Nights
by inventingfictions
Summary: The summer before 7th year, Hermione slips out of bed in the middle of the night to try and escape thoughts of a certain redheaded friend.  Little does she know that this friend is having similar thoughts of his own.  AU. Oneshot.


It should have been a great summer; a glorious summer. The last summer of freedom before N.E.W.T.S, graduation, adulthood. Three more months before responsibilities truly set in. The weather was unusually warm and everyone's mood was the better for it. The Burrow was near to bursting with people - Lee Jordan was camping out with the twins, Percy's fiancee was staying with him for the weekend, Charlie had shown up with outrageously long hair and more than a few new scars, and to everyone's immense delight, Tonks was staying over while Lupin was away. There was never a moment of silence or rest in the tiny house; someone was always coming or going, and visitors tended to drop in with no warning at all.

Mornings were spent playing three on three quidditch with Harry, Ron, the twins and Ginny, with Lee Jordan providing crude 'commentary' from below. Everyone tended to drift off after lunch; Lee and the twins holed up to try out outrageous new product ideas, Harry and Ginny snuck off to who knows where, and Ron took to shining his broom obsessively. It was during this time that Hermione wandered off on her own, often accompanied by a book or two. By late July, she had two favourite hide outs - the ancient oak tree by Luna's, and the small secluded pond by the nearby muggle village. Under her tree she would sit and read - only she grew to find that books could only distract her for so long before Ron's face swam before her mind. He was everywhere and nowhere all at once. The mere thought of his touch was enough to set her ablaze, leading to heavy blushing and hasty retreats when such occurrences actually happened. So instead of lingering around the Burrow waiting for meetings like this to happen, Hermione took to the outdoors instead, each time reading her seventh year textbooks, already collected from Flourish & Blots, to try and keep him off her mind.

This soon turned completely futile. While during the first reading, her textbooks served as a suitable distraction, the second time around they didn't work nearly as well. And given Hermione's penchant for reading rather quickly, it only took a matter of days to blow through them all. And now what was she to do? It didn't take long for her to recall how the boys all tended to use quidditch, or simply flying in general, as a distraction. Hermione wasn't about to try quidditch - flying wasn't really her thing, thank you very much - but physical exercise was a good idea, she had to admit. And there _was _a pond nearby. Swimming could work.

And so Hermione temporarily turned into one of those girls who seemed to obsessively exercise. Except the exercise was just a bonus, really - all she wanted to do was escape her own mind for a few hours. This daily exercise led to an increased appetite, which didn't go unnoticed in a house full of boys. The twins poked fun of her on a daily basis, comments which she waved off, knowing they were only sad for all the food she was 'stealing' from them. Harry, preoccupied with Ginny and the trysts the two of them seemed to think no one knew about, noticed Hermione's recent change, but didn't comment on it. Ron, on the other hand, had more than noticed.

* * *

><p>That night in August was hot and humid. The air was sticky and a breeze was nonexistent. Hermione lay in bed, her sheets long since kicked off, feeling restless. She had to move; she had to do <em>something<em>. Sighing, she rolled out of bed and slid on a pair of sandals.

Having walked the path so many times during the day, it wasn't hard to find it in the moonlight. The stars shone brightly down, guiding her way, and the sleepy sound of crickets chirping provided the soundtrack. The small pond glowed in the starlight, the surface as smooth and calm as a sheet of glass. She kicked off her shoes and swung her legs over the small dock, just letting her feet kiss the surface.

A small creak from behind made Hermione nearly jump out of her skin, and she twisted around, wand raised.

"Bloody hell Hermione, put that down!" Ron exclaimed, frozen in place a few yards behind her.

"Ron!" Hermione chastised, colouring. "You scared me half to death!"

"Well it's a good thing I didn't scare you all the way, isn't it?" Ron teased with a wink, sitting down beside her.

Hermione grumbled and turned back to face the water, arms crossed over her chest. "Did you follow me here?"

"Yes," Ron replied, blatant and open.

Hermione looked at him, eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"That cannot _seriously _be your answer."

Ron sighed and reached up to scratch the back of his neck, one of his many nervous ticks. "I just wanted to know where you were always disappearing to. Harry and I hardly see you anymore."

"Harry hardly sees anyone other than Ginny anymore," Hermione reminded him.

"You've got a point there," Ron replied gruffly. "You know, I still don't like the idea of my little sister shacking up with my _best friend_-"

"Ron," Hermione chastised.

"Sorry. But um... yeah. I hardly see you anywhere other than the dinner table. And I wasn't lying, I really couldn't sleep tonight. So when I heard you leave, I just thought it would be a good idea to - to um..."

"Stalk me?"

"Shut up."

"Go on, then."

"I just wanted to know where you always went off to. And I also sort of wanted to.. ask you why," he finished lamely.

"Ask why I keep leaving?" Hermione asked, her voice rising slightly in pitch.

"Yeah. So, er.. why d'you do it?"

"Oh, umm.. a few reasons, really," Hermione said breathily. "Just trying to get away, I suppose, from everything. Sort of take a deep breath before school starts."

"Like you've got anything to worry about next year," he replied. "I've seen you carting those textbooks around," he added tenderly.

"Yes, well, that doesn't mean I'm prepared!" Hermione bristled, then softened slightly when she saw the hurt expression cross Ron's face.

"That the only reason, then?" he asked softly, not wanting to upset her again.

"No, I suppose it isn't," she said, glancing over at him.

Ron continued talking, but his gaze was fixated on her lips, and Hermione's couldn't pretend not to notice. Her heart picked up pace and it was difficult to tune back in to what he was saying. "Then what else?"

"It's a good distraction," she mumbled, looking anywhere but at him.

"From what?" Ron asked quietly, crooking his finger under her chin and raising her eyes to meet his.

Hermione's eyes flickered to his lips, and not for the first time, wondered what they would taste like. She licked her own lips nervously and tried to look away. "Nothing important..."

"I really doubt that."

"There's just - there's just this.. this person," she continued, her throat closing. It was becoming harder and harder to concentrate with Ron's gaze so intense.

"Is there now?"

"Mmm," Hermione was past words now.

"And who would that be?"

Hermione had only just looked up and prepare to lie - or perhaps apparate the hell out of there - when Ron was suddenly much, much closer. Another inch and they'd be molded together. Taking a deep, steady breath, she prepared herself to move in... when Ron did just that.

She gasped as his lips met hers, her eyelids fluttering closed. She moved closer still, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing close to him. Ron groaned slightly as his fingers tangled in her curls and his tongue swept over her lips, asking entrance. She parted her lips eagerly, breathing in everything that was Ron; his touch, his taste, the scent of soap and shampoo that was precisely him.

"You never did tell me," Ron said huskily, pulling back only slightly, "who that person was."

"Oh, shut up," Hermione told him with a smirk, pulling him back.

* * *

><p><em>The idea for this fic has been in my head for ages, and since it wouldn't shut up, I finally took the time to write it down. Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. Reviews are loved!<em>


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